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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583139">feverish</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/obscurityofphylum/pseuds/obscurityofphylum'>obscurityofphylum</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>The Umbrella Academy (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Angst, Reginald Hargreeves' A+ Parenting</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-04-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-04-10</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-02 22:28:58</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>1,388</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/23583139</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/obscurityofphylum/pseuds/obscurityofphylum</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>mausoleum detoxes never went well.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>3</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>50</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>feverish</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>"klaus, you need to wake up. come on, you probably have a concussion." ben said, sitting criss-cross on the stone floor. klaus had been passed out for almost two days now, his breathing shallow. reginald had found him using again, so he locked him in the masoleum for the third time this month.</p><p>"klaus!" ben yelled, irritated. klaus's eyes opened, wide pools of black from his drug-dilated pupils, covered in a glossy haze. the boy groaned, raising a weak hand to wipe beads of sweat from his forehead. his back hurt like hell from the cold floor, and dried blood coated one side of his face. </p><p>"m' bleeding." he slurred. the ghosts were there, but very quiet. his high was fading. what he had taken had been pretty extreme, he didn't remember anything except sitting on the bathroom floor, a needle sticking out of his arm, relief flooding his veins.</p><p>"i know. dad slammed your head into the wall because you weren't listening. not to be an ass, but you deserved it." ben muttered, wiping sleep from his eyes. klaus nodded, not seeming to register much of anything the ghost of his brother was saying. he sunk back into fitful sleep.</p><p>when he awoke the second time, it was different. the ghosts were loud, scarily loud, in his face, screaming so angrily that he practically jumped three feet in the air when he came to his surroundings. the sudden jolt reminded him of his pounding headache.</p><p>withdrawals.</p><p>they were just beginning, horrible cravings for something strong to take the pain away. his head hurt, and his body hurt even worse. every one of his muscles cried out in pain, sore and disturbed by his fright from the ghosts. he eased back down onto the floor, only to stir again, this time due to nausea.</p><p>dizzily, he dry-heaved onto the stone floor of the crypt, his throat raw from dehydration. he wasn't able to vomit anything but bile, his mouth burning from the acid of pill residue. once he was done, he dropped back onto the floor weakly. ben was nowhere in sight. </p><p>klaus still remembered the first time reginald had locked him in the masoleum. he was only four then, and he remembers reginald yanking him up from grace's lap where he had been sat, absentmindedly daydreaming, a stuffed toy clutched in his innocent grip. he was too young. he was just a child. </p><p>the first time it had been one hour. spirits desperately clawed at him, sometimes physically; that was another thing his 'special' training in the masoleum corrected: it was one of klaus's jobs to draw a boundary between the physical and spiritual world, to learn and be able to control when spirits materialized. </p><p>he was too young to control them, so they materialized in their own, feeding off his energy. they tore his clothes, scratched and hit him. he screamed and cried, sobbing. he curled into himself, lying in a fetal position in the corner of the dark stone room. an hour had seemed like years. </p><p>pogo was the only one who cared. the only one who tried to stop klaus's training. klaus would wake up every single night until he was nearly eight years old, wetting the bed from fear of the nightmares. </p><p>klaus used to be the wild child. the humorous, quick-witted little creature who loved to be with his siblings, the glue binding them together. the masoleum trips wore him down over time. his personality disappeared. his eyes became dull. he stopped eating. he stopped talking, stopped coming downstairs. grace would bring him his meals in his room, where he sat catatonic, only for her to come back and retrieve the barely-touched trays. </p><p>ben's death had pushed him over the edge. he started using drugs. he broke his own jaw so he would have an excuse to avoid talking. he remembered many a night, crushing painkillers with knives stolen from diego until they were powder, as he resorted to snorting his pills due to his wired mouth. the drug use just continued from there, leveling up to harder substances like a sick, twisted video game. </p><p>a sudden muscle spasm jerked him back to the present, and he groaned, wiping his eyes with grime-stained fingers. the memories hurt. his chest ached. he retched a little more, panting as he laid on his back on the dusty ground. </p><p>for the next few hours he drifted in and out of unconsciousness, his fever intensifying with every coming minute. his clothes stuck to him from perspiration, and he couldn't decipher whether his current situation was a dream or not.</p><p>at one point he woke up, the buzzing in his skull becoming too much to bear. klaus tried to stand, but he swayed on his feet so much that he didn't get very far. he crawled to the corner weakly, his hands clamped around his ears. </p><p>he didn't even realize he was absentmindedly knocking his head into the wall until ben appeared next to him. sighing, he used a solid arm to grab klaus, laying him back down on the ground. </p><p>"don't do that. you'll hurt yourself." ben said, and the next time he tried to touch his brother, his limb glowed blue and passed right through him. he wasn't strong enough to keep himself corporeal for long periods.</p><p>"y-you touched me." klaus slurred, his throat sore. he sounded pitiful, and looked even worse. </p><p>"i know. i'm learning to control it, at least while you're in this state. you just gotta hold on until dad comes to get you, hopefully soon." ben said, his eyes sorrowful.</p><p>klaus nodded absentmindedly, already sinking back into the pleasant oblivion. it didn't take long for him to be up again, the insomnia of withdrawals finally becoming present. </p><p>"ben, ben they won't stop touching me-" klaus rasped, his fingernails scratching red lines into his shaky arms. spirits clouded his vision, and when ben looked at him, he could see the dark purple rings on the perimeter of tired, terrified eyes. </p><p>"just breathe, klaus. it'll be over soon. damn it, why can't i break through?" ben cursed, struggling to become corporeal, to no avail. he watched helplessly as his brother succumbed to darkness again, his face red from fever, matching the hue of the blood that dripped rhythmically from his assaulted arms. </p><p>klaus didn't wake up again in the next few hours. </p><p>nearly three days after reginald had left him, he returned with luther and diego in tow. the stone door to the crypt slid open, revealing klaus, bruised and sweaty, staring at the ceiling with glossy eyes. he didn't stir at the sound of the approaching company. </p><p>"hello, number four. i hope this training taught you a valuable lesson." reginald said. klaus wasn't listening, and even if he wanted to, he wasn't capable to decipher words right now. as luther and diego drew nearer, ready to pick him up and put him in the car, he jumped to alertness.</p><p>"no, no, i can't help you, you're already dead, please just leave me alone-" klaus muttered, putting his hands out defensively. his brothers looked at one another, confused.</p><p>"klaus, it's luther. we're here to take you home." luther said, crouching near his brother. klaus scooted away, his neck hanging at an awkward angle.</p><p>"no, no, i really can't help you. please." klaus begged, his voice quiet and damaged. he seemed to stare straight through his adopted siblings, and into the sunlight that peaked through the ajar crypt door.</p><p>"c'mon, klaus. it's time to go home now." diego said, beginning to scoop klaus into his arms. klaus, with feverish energy, began to squirm, frantically clawing at diego's grip. </p><p>"no! no! i don't wanna die! please don't take me with you-" klaus sobbed, heaving for air. luther assisted diego in restraining him, somehow holding his thin wrists together with only one of luther's hands. they got to the car with much struggle.</p><p>klaus laid with head resting in diego's lap on the way home, drifting into feverish sleep for what seemed like the millionth time in the past few days. except, this time was different. with diego's hand stroking his hair, and the warmth of his brothers next to him, he felt safe for once.</p><p>and it's been a long time since he felt safe.</p>
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